You are here

Japanese PM Abe to pick hawkish ally for defence in cabinet rejig

Wed, Aug 03, 2016 - 8:14 AM

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was widely expected to appoint conservative ally Tomomi Inada as defence minister on Wednesday, a move that could upset China and South Korea, while keeping key ministers in their posts in a cabinet rejig.

PHOTO: EPA

[TOKYO] Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was widely expected to appoint conservative ally Tomomi Inada as defence minister on Wednesday, a move that could upset China and South Korea, while keeping key ministers in their posts in a cabinet rejig.

Ms Inada, the ruling party policy chief, shares Mr Abe's goal of revising the post-war, pacifist constitution, which some conservatives consider a humiliating symbol of Japan's World War Two defeat.

The 57-year-old lawyer regularly visits Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for war dead, which is seen as a symbol of Japan's past militarism in China and South Korea.

Japan's relations with Beijing and Seoul have often been frayed by the legacy of Japan's military aggression before and during World War Two.

Market voices on:

"Ms Inada is an ultra-conservative politician and this will be taken as preparation for achieving constitutional revision and adopting a stern stance toward China," said Takashi Kawakami, a security expert at Takushoku University.

Mr Abe is trying to rekindle economic growth and cope with several diplomatic challenges as he ponders the possibility of staying in office after his term as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ends in 2018.

He is expected to travel to China in September for a Group of 20 summit, and may meet Chinese President Xi Jinping there.

Sino-Japanese ties have also been strained by a row over tiny isles in the East China Sea and China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.

Economics minister Nobuteru Ishihara may be kept on along with health, welfare and labour minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki. Public broadcaster NHK has said deputy chief cabinet secretary Hiroshige Seko would become trade and industry minister.

Shigeru Ishiba, minister for regional revitalisation, was expected to leave the cabinet, media reported, to prepare for a run at replacing Mr Abe as prime minister when his term as LDP leader expires.

Mr Abe will also appoint a new LDP executive line-up on Wednesday. The expected appointment of Toshihiro Nikai, 77, a big-spending advocate with good ties with China, as LDP secretary general was seen as signalling Mr Abe's hopes for a third term. Mr Nikai has said he would support an extension for Mr Abe, which would require a change in party rules.

Some analysts worry Mr Abe will devote too much energy to trying to revise the constitution after his ruling bloc and allies obtained the two-thirds majorities in both houses of parliament needed to begin the process. Changes must also be approved in a referendum.